Victim's father confronts child molester in courtroom

West Easton man sentenced to up to 20 years in state prison after admitting assaults on two girls.

February 08, 2013|By Riley Yates, Of The Morning Call

The wife and son of a West Easton child molester came to court Friday and asked a judge to look beyond the crimes he'd committed. Robert W. Repsher, they said, is a good man who will continue to have their support and love when he is released from prison.

Before those words were spoken, the parents of Repsher's two victims had decided that they would stay silent during his sentencing. But hearing that praise was too much for one of the girl's fathers, who interrupted the proceeding by raising his hand and asking to address the court.

Standing in the spectators rows and often speaking directly to the 61-year-old defendant, the father said his daughter went from a "happy go-lucky kid" to someone who was withdrawn, used drugs and cut herself for relief from her problems.

"I don't care how much good this guy had done in the world, but over the last six or seven years, he's been a violent predator," the father said. "I don't care how much good you do in this world: Your life is over."

"It's unbelievable," he added as he sat down.

Repsher will serve 10 to 20 years in state prison after earlier admitting to charges of aggravated indecent assault, sexual assault, indecent assault and endangering the welfare of a child, Northampton County Judge Anthony Beltrami decided.

Police said Repsher sexually assaulted one of the girls beginning when she was 10 and ending last year when she was 14. The other girl was molested from 2007 to 2010, when she was 9 to 12 years old, police said.

In handing down the sentence, Beltrami said Repsher offered several contradictory and self-serving accounts in which he blamed his victims.

"You made it sound as if these children were somehow sexually attracted to you and that they were the instigators of this," said Beltrami, "which was preposterous because they were children."

Repsher will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. And because a psychologist concluded he was a sexually violent offender — a designation he didn't dispute — he'll have heightened counseling and notification requirements as well.

Repsher had no prior criminal record. His wife of 43 years, Gloria Repsher, and his son, Mark Repsher, said they stand by him despite what he did.

"I believe that love is forever and unconditional," Gloria Repsher said. "I miss my husband. I miss him very much."

"In my opinion, it is important to separate the deed from the doer," the son said.

Repsher, who wiped tears from his eyes, said he hopes his victims will be able to heal.

"I was selfish, thinking of myself and not them," he said.

Under his sentence, he'll be on probation for seven years after he completes his prison time.